The U.K. is looking to take steps toward the legalization of medical cannabis. Today the word on the interwebs is that a U.K. drug policy committee has called for the legalization of medical marijuana. The Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs issued some “short-term advice,” declaring that cannabis has medicinal advantages and that doctors should be able to prescribe it. The committee also went as far to suggest that cannabis should be rescheduled under the misuse of drugs legislation.

Dr. Owen Bowden-Jones, the chair of the ACMD stated: “The ACMD advises that clinicians in the U.K. should have the option to prescribe Cannabis-derived medicinal products that meet the requirements for medicinal standards to patients with certain medical conditions.” He added “It is important that clinicians, patients, and their families are confident that any prescribed medication is both safe and effective.” The committee chair also said that standards for medical cannabis therapies and protocols for their use should be established, though these would be determined by the Department of Health and Social Care. The advice from the ACMD was the result of the second stage of a review of the medical use of cannabis called for by Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

The review came after the case of 12-year-old Billy Caldwell, a Northern Ireland boy with severe epilepsy, which made international news. The ACMD also said that government officials should establish standards for cannabis medicines and their use in a “timely manner.” This is indeed big news, and a step in the right direction for the legalization of medical cannabis in the U.K. Give us your thoughts in the comments and stay tuned for much more on this coming very soon.